Universal Plug and Play: the Key to a Better NAT Type for Your Game Console

Playing games online on PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo game consoles? Do they require UPnP or an open NAT type? Here is the fix when the console connects through a hotspot.

If your console gets online through a Windows PC’s hotspot, the fix is built into Connectify Hotspot, a free Windows app that turns a PC into a Wi-Fi hotspot. UPnP is on by default, and its gaming mode forwards the ports PlayStation Network, Xbox Live and Nintendo need, in every edition including the free one. Download Connectify Hotspot free, then follow the steps below.

When it comes to getting a game console online, things are not as simple as you’d think. If you’re a student, you know this well: campus Wi-Fi networks often don’t allow game consoles at all. Sometimes it’s the router or other networking equipment that causes the issue, and your console needs Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) turned on. It comes down to network address translation (NAT) settings.

What is Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)?

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is a set of networking protocols that allows devices on a network to discover each other and work together for data sharing, communication and entertainment.

Take the simplest example: you have a Google Chromecast connected to your home network. Whenever you connect a smartphone to the same network and open YouTube, you get the option to cast to your Chromecast, without setting anything up between the two. Games use the same idea: UPnP lets a console ask the router (or the hotspot) to open the ports it needs.

Having UPnP enabled on your network or hotspot means the NAT type is less likely to be strict. If it’s strict, your console will be limited in who it can play with: see below for more about NAT types.

What is NAT? How Does It Affect My Game Console Connectivity?

Network Address Translation (NAT) is a method used by routers to translate a public IP address (used on the Internet) into a private IP address (used on your home network) and vice versa. This is done for multiple purposes:

• to add security to the network by keeping the private IP addresses hidden from the Internet.
• to allow multiple devices to share a single IP address

In the world of gaming consoles, there are three NAT types that classify the connectivity they have to other players over the Internet:

• Open NAT (Type 1): all is permitted. Your console can connect to anyone’s games and host games, and other players can find and join the games you host. This is usually the case when your console is connected directly to the Internet with no router or firewall.
• Moderate NAT (Type 2): your console can connect to other players, but some functions are limited. A properly configured router usually gives you this NAT type, and it is all most games need.
• Strict NAT (Type 3): your console has limited connectivity with other players. Other players on a moderate or strict NAT will not be able to join your hosted games. This is the case when no ports are open for the console.

So, you’ll have the best gaming experience on an open NAT, or at least a moderate one.

How to Enable UPnP on a Laptop Hotspot with Connectify Hotspot

A PC hotspot adds a second layer of address translation between your console and the internet, which is a common cause of a strict NAT type. Connectify Hotspot handles that layer for you:

1. Download Connectify Hotspot and install it on your 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 PC.
2. Connect the PC to the internet by Wi-Fi or Ethernet as usual.
3. Open Connectify Hotspot, choose Wi-Fi hotspot, pick that connection under Internet to share, set a password and click Start hotspot.
4. Connect your console to the hotspot.
5. Open Clients, select the console, and set Gaming mode to PlayStation Network, Xbox Live or Nintendo, or leave it on Detect automatically.
6. Check that Settings → Network → Let apps open ports automatically (UPnP) is on. It is on by default.

Below is a video that illustrates how to set up a Wi-Fi hotspot with Connectify:

What this fixes, and what it doesn’t:

• Gaming mode forwards the TCP and UDP ports the console’s online network needs, through the layer the PC adds. Most consoles then report NAT Type 2 (Moderate), as long as the network you are sharing isn’t restricting ports itself.
• Only one console of each kind can use gaming mode at a time. With two PlayStations connected, set the one you are playing on to PlayStation Network.
• It cannot change a strict NAT set upstream: by your router, a campus network, or a mobile carrier. The next section covers that case.
• For hosting games, Bridged mode in Connectify Hotspot MAX removes the PC’s layer entirely by putting the console on your home network.

Still strict after these steps? Read below.

When the Network Itself Is Strict: Speedify with Connectify Hotspot

If you connect through a public or restricted network (campus Wi-Fi, office networks, a mobile hotspot), UPnP is usually disabled upstream and many ports are blocked, which produces a strict NAT type 3 that no setting on your PC can open.

One way around it is a VPN such as Speedify, which carries all of the PC’s traffic through one encrypted tunnel, so the console’s traffic leaves from the VPN server instead of the restricted network. Here are the steps:

1. Download and install Connectify Hotspot and Speedify on your Windows PC.
2. Open Speedify and connect to a server (usually the closest will be best). If you have multiple Internet connections from different networks, you can combine and use them at the same time with Speedify.
3. Open Connectify Hotspot, choose Wi-Fi hotspot, select the Speedify connection under Internet to share, set a password and click Start hotspot.
4. Connect your game console to the hotspot. Depending on the network and the game, this can give the console a Moderate NAT type (Type 2).

Now you’re set: enjoy your online gaming with Connectify Hotspot, and Speedify if your network needs it.